But while he was considering this an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel told him that he should not be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the seed that was in her was the seed of the Holy Spirit.
As we read the Christmas story, many times we don’t comprehend the fullness of what the angel said. Later in life when Jesus was talking to His disciples and friends, He repeatedly referred to God as His Father. In fact, in John 17 when Jesus spent considerable time talking to the Father just before His arrest and crucifixion, He continually referred to God as His Father, and He referred to Himself as the Father’s Son.
Some may wonder, “How can this be?” How can God be His Father when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit? The answer is complex and simple. The Spirit of God is God.
Likewise, when we become Christians we become children of God and we become born of the Spirit. First John 3:9 says that as Christians we are born of God and God's nature, His divine sperm, remains permanently in us because we are born of God.
When the angel told Joseph that Jesus was born of the Spirit, he was prophesying that we who receive Jesus would be born of the Spirit also. We actually are His body and born of the same Spirit.
The Christmas story is a powerful story.
No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.
(1 John 3:9 AMP)
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
(Rom. 8:11)
Copyright © Larry Ollison Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Dr. Larry Ollison is founder and Senior Pastor of Walk on the Water Faith Church and founder of Larry Ollison Ministries. With over forty years in the ministry, he is a very popular speaker nationally and internationally and ministers the Word of Faith through radio, television, Internet, and daily e-mail devotionals. As the author of eight books (including The Power of Grace, The Practical Handbook for Christian Living, Breaking the Cycle of Offense, Life is in the Blood, and recently released The Paradise of God), he is in frequent demand for radio/TV interviews, book signings, and magazine publications.
